Consistent sociality but flexible social associations across temporal and spatial foraging contexts in a colonial breeder. (20th April 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jones, Teri B.; Green, Jonathan A.; Patrick, Samantha C.; Evans, Julian C.; Wells, Melanie R.; Rodríguez‐Malagón, Marlenne A.; Arnould, John P. Y.
• Editors: Pinter‐Wollman, Noa
• Is Part Of: Ecology letters. Volume 23:Number 7(2020)
• Page Start: 1085
• Page End: 1096
• Publication Date: 2020-04-20
• Subjects: Coloniality -- consistency -- group formation -- individual behaviour -- multiplex networks -- social flexibility -- social foraging -- sociality -- seabirds; Ecology -- Periodicals; 577
• DOI: 10.1111/ele.13507
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1461-023X

Abstract

Abstract: When the consequences of sociality differ depending on the state of individual animals and the experienced environment, individuals may benefit from altering their social behaviours in a context‐dependent manner. Thus, to fully address the hypotheses about the role of social associations it is imperative to consider the multidimensional nature of sociality by explicitly examining social associations across multiple scales and contexts. We simultaneously recorded > 8000 associations from 85% of breeding individuals from a colony of Australasian gannets ( Morus serrator ) over a 2‐week period, and examined gregariousness across four foraging states using multilayer social network analysis. We found that social associations varied in a context‐dependent manner, highlighting that social associations are most prevalent during foraging (local enhancement) and in regions expected to provide clustered resources. We also provide evidence of individual consistency in gregariousness, but flexibility in social associates, demonstrating that individuals can adjust their social behaviours to match experienced conditions. Abstract : When social animals experiences context‐dependent costs and benefits from social behaviours individuals may express flexibility in sociality. We studied sociality across multiple foraging stages and spatial contexts to address how individual use of social strategies varies across these different contexts. We find that individuals express consistency in their overall social tendencies but fine‐tune their social behaviours through flexibility in their social associations.